Snow
by spadetje
Summary: Voyager encounters a mind reading alien, upon returning him to the planet there are problems. A little JC.


Snow **Author:** spadetje  
  
**Rated:** PG  
  
**Plot:** Some J/C, mostly crew.  
  
**Disclaimer:** Paramount owns em all.  
  
**Summary:** Voyager encounters a mind reading alien, upon returning him to the planet there are problems. A little J/C.  
  
**A/N**: Just something I did in a couple of days. It's not finished, I might continue it if I have a reason - reviewers, any suggestions, etc?  
  
Snow. It rained down, angrily falling towards the surface of the planet, covering everything in sight with a thick, wet layer of gray. The new frost would add to the already piles of snow on the ground, giving the inhabitants of the planet more work to do, more shoveling, or more - ebbing, was it? The primitive technology that this planet had developed after eons of snow-laden weather; a process which involved using an oval-shaped device with an auxiliary container - the device would 'melt' the snow at a desired area, and transport the melted snow into the container, for further use. Ebbing was ingenious although primitive, saving every part of the snow. This planet was like that; they did not waste. Entropy was somewhat even and their population would live for centuries to come.  
   
Cronetab. A planet much like Earth, with little differences. It was always snowing, always gray and windy. The people were of various races from all over the quadrant and beyond - like Earth as well. Cronetabans were open-minded and loved visitors, and for this, perhaps her and her crew were lucky. How did they end up here again? Sometimes her mind wandered and she would let all responsibilities and problems go for a bit, just to get away...  
  
_"Captain, I'm picking up a distress call from a shuttle craft about 2.2 light-years away from here. There's two lifeforms aboard - both weak. Should we investigate?"_  
  
But they had run into that child. _Voyager_ and it's crew couldn't leave them alone; they were going to die. He was with another Cronetaban, both really originating from another planet in the Beta Quadrant called Jacia. Their species - Jacians - were telepathically enhanced, although those two children didn't know it at the time. They could see things...  
  
_"Cosa! Leave me alone, just move away. My head..." He's sitting in the corner of sickbay, his arms wrapped around his knees, moaning in pain. The boy is shaking and won't let the Doctor near him. I'm concerned, so I walk slowly over to the child. He's got to be only all of sixteen in human years.  
  
"Mr. Nerik, listen. We're trying to-"  
  
He cuts me off with a shout of pain. "Leave! I know everything. I know about Mark, I know about the Caretaker. Just go! GO!" He begins to shout and scream so I signal for the Doctor to sedate him. I can't do anything else; the boy is in pain and he needs medical treatment.  
  
The Doctor moves him to a biobed nearby. I watch them carry the boy over silently. He looks almost the same as a human with blue eyes - very similar to Tom's - and short black hair. The only difference is the ridges from his eyes to his ears, distinguishing him as a Jacian. The other child, Cosa, is lying on bed beside Nerik unconscious. I think the Doctor said she was dying. I'm still thinking about what this kid said about Mark and the Caretaker - how could he know? How much did he know?  
  
I can sense my first officer beside me, and he puts a hand on my shoulder. I turn to Chakotay and watch his deep intelligent eyes as he begins to speak. "Perhaps he knows something about the Caretaker - something that would assist us on getting home?" His voice is always so calm and collected. I've always found it comforting when I'm faced with a problem.  
  
I nod, since those had been the same thoughts going through my head as well. This child could help us - or hurt us._  
  
The wind pulled at her lost face, bringing her out of thought as she began to see the starship in the distance. After they had woken Nerik, he had spoken with the Doctor and informed him the location of their home. The two children had escaped from Cronetab because, as they described, they couldn't take the pains of seeing the lives of Cronetabans. The Doctor and Kes had done some research on the anatomy of the Jacian brain and figured out that their telepathic abilities were active; that this would be normal for it to start at their age. They concluded as the visitors awoke that Nerik's telepathy exceeded Cosa's, and he was able to see the memories, or the life of the person his brain reacted to.  
  
When they had reached Cronetab, Ops scans showed that there were appealing resources on the planet, such as dilithium and galicite. The ship wasn't in dire need of either element, but that wasn't to say that later on they wouldn't be in demand. So, she had contacted the planet, requesting for some of the resources in return for vorilium - a mineral the ship had more than enough of.  
  
What Captain Kathryn Janeway had found strange was that the Cronetaban authorities didn't recognize their two guests - or ever heard of them at all, even though Cosa and Nerik had left on a Cronetab ship. Surely they would notice if a starship had left their hometown, even if it was a small one...?   
  
However, this was their home and it was her duty to return them, seeing they could not survive on their own. They were so reluctant to leave the ship, though, after Nerik had met Kes. He claimed she was "not as bad as the rest of them." Nerik...he intrigued Janeway, but also scared her.  
  
_"Mr. Nerik, I have the understanding that your telepathic capabilities allow you to...see the victim's past experiences?" I'm in sickbay, standing over the child as he sits in the bed, looking at me with those captivating blue eyes.  He looks down, as if he's ashamed and thinks for a few seconds. I let him, although my impatience is causing me to leer at the child and I know it's making him uncomfortable.  
  
"Yes, that's correct." He replies, and bites his lip nervously. "I know everything about you."  
  
The words are chilling, in a way. I frown in confusion since I've only been around him for no less than 30 minutes at the most. "It's extremely important if you tell us anything you know anything about the Caretaker."  
  
He sighs and flops his hands into his lap. "I know what you know..." Nerik trails off and looks me in the eye. "He's dead. I know why you're here. I know about Earth, I know about the crew. I know about your puppy, I know about Chakotay. I know what you really want, I-"  
  
"That's enough. Your point is across." I swallow hard and raise my hand to confirm that the part of the conversation is over. The Doctor is looking at me strangely so I continue with my questions to avoid the topic. "Can you tell me where you are from?"  
  
"Cronetab."_  
  
Cronetab. Just like Earth, except off a little bit on everything. Instead of white snow, it's gray. The majority of the world is water, except it's frozen. Inhabited with races from all sorts of planets, except they always get along. Lots of resources, except they are willing to share. Sure, there were reasons for the differences - and not all planets were the same - but the similarities were all the same ratios.  
  
Kathryn shook her head as she realizes how silly she was being. The cold, windy air that cut through to her face reminded her of the times on Earth when she would walk through the forest and the trees branches would whip back into her face. She thought about Earth too much, almost to a point of obsession. She often contemplated her decision for the Ocampa.  
  
As she reached and boarded _Voyager_, she looked up into the sky and sighed. Cronetab wasn't like Earth, considering the plasma drift that floated above the atmosphere of the planet, cutting off major transportation activity. Magnesite particles floated through the atmosphere of this planet. It was a major inconvenience to move material physically, she had taken transportation technology for granted. Thinking of which, she wondered how the away team was doing with their project on the dilithium and gallicite mining. With Cronetaban assistance, they were allowed to send several crew members to assist in the mining and extraction of the elements, but only with using the Cronetab equipment. It was very primitive, but that was their rules and as the Captain she had to respect that. And compromise.  
  
In the turbolift she thought about how the Cronetab authorities were reluctant to bend the rules at all, and she didn't want to disrupt any directives, but Kathryn had managed to have them allow tricorders, when she explained they were for scanning and gathering information, as well as their commbadges. Stepping into the bridge, she signaled everyone to come at ease and glanced toward Ensign Harry Kim.  
  
"Report on the away-team, Mr. Kim?"  
  
The young Operations Officer glanced up from his duties and nodded. "The last report concluded they are on the way of bringing plenty of dilithium and galicite back home. No trouble with - as Lieutenant Torres calls it - antediluvian equipment."  
  
With an appreciated grin, Janeway nodded. "And how's our mind-reading friend in sickbay?"  
  
At this, Tom Paris turned around from the helm to answer. "I'm afraid he's still in there, Ma'am. I wish we could beam him off the ship - every time he passes someone he gets a life story of tragedy." Letting out a breath of air, Tom turned back to the controls with a raised eyebrow, "and believe me, it wasn't pretty when I took a stroll by."  
  
The Captain nodded with a melancholic stare as she stood and turned toward the lift. "Thank you Lieutenant. I'm going to check in on the both of them. Inform me of any news with the away team, Mr. Kim."  
  
"Acknowledged." His face returned to the console and another low beeping of pressed buttons was added to the chorus of technological noise that always sounded on the bridge.  
  
On the turbolift it always seemed like forever to travel a few floors, especially if there was an emergency. Sighing, the possibility of crawling through the Jeffries tubes to get to her destination passed through Kathryn's mind as an irritated response to the slow voyage. As the doors opened to Deck 5, Janeway walked into Sickbay and was greeted by her medical assistant.  
  
Kes and the Captain stood near the biobed where Nerik sat watching the Doctor's vigorous medical tricorder. "Don't bother trying to accumulate information regarding my mind; you'll never understand it. Even if you are a machine."  
  
"Do you want a cure for your problem, Mr Nerik?" The Doctor responded in his usual deprecating tone, then frowned as apparent new information was added to the device held in his hand. Looking up, he nodded to the captain and the medical assistant.  
  
Nerik turned slightly and glanced at the two figures with a sad smile. "Oh, you two..." The child's voice was always so melancholic, as if he knew what would happen to them in the future, let alone the past. The Captain tilted her head to the side stepped cautiously toward the patient on the bed. She stopped as she noticed Nerik's eyes widen and breathing increase. His eyes were rapidly moving from side to side, as if looking out the window in a moving vehicle.  
  
Taking a deep breath, she put her hands on her hips. "Nerik, we have arrived at Cronetab for a few days now - it is our responsibility to return you to your people. You need to get back to your home."  
  
"I won't leave until Cosa comes with me. Why won't she wake up?"  
  
The Doctor had informed the Captain previously that their other telepathic patient was dying. Based on the fact that this child knew her memories, she could insinuate he was denying the fact that his friend Cosa had died. Cupping the palm of her hand to her mouth in a thoughtful state, Kathryn knew she was going to have to use the plan Tuvok had stated as an alternate; force this child off of the starship. In other situations, she would have just beamed him off the ship, but due to the high magnesite levels in the atmosphere of the planet, that wasn't an option.  
  
Kathryn stared very hard at the Jacian in front of her. "I'm very sorry, but your friend has passed away. We tried to save Cosa, but there was nothing we could have done. We will be on our way soon, so it is important that you try to maintain your life back on Cronetab."  
  
Nerik didn't even seem to acknowledge that he had heard anything the Captain had said; his mouth hung open a slight bit and he was staring at the captain intensely. He stood from the bed and tilted his head, copying the captain's previous movement and smiled that melancholic smile. "You species are very intelligent. Your memories...work memories...they are so confusing they make my head hurt. It's a pity you humans don't know how to deal with your emotions very well. Comparing to other species, like Tuvok's, you have a high emotional feeling."  
  
Kathryn sighed. She had been doing that a lot today, and imagined she would continue to do so for the rest of the day. "Mr. Nerik, did you hear what I said?"  
  
"No."  
  
Janeway felt another sigh beginning to grow inside of her. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave immediately. Your home world has informed us they can treat you."   
  
"You don't have to tell me, I already know!" The smile returned, then was quickly diminished as Nerik glanced toward the rest of Sickbay. "Cosa! Where is she? Oh, you humans. I know what you're thinking, Janeway. 'I'm going to have to force that child off this ship.' If something goes wrong, just push it out of the way." The child was grinning widely now and began to walk around the Captain, as if teasing her. "How does this Array work? Oh well, let's blow it up! We can't transport to the planet? Let's push our way through! I can't love my first officer because I'm the Captain? Oh well, get out of my face Chakotay! This kid won't get off my ship? Let's force him off!"  
  
The Jacian seemed to be enjoying Janeway's dark glare as he continued to taunt her with little details from her past. "Get off of my ship now," she ordered with clear anger in her voice. "Your friend Cosa has been sent down to be properly buried on your planet. Now go."  
  
Nerik's laughing smile turned into an immediate scowl at the news. "You killed Cosa." He simply stated, glaring from Janeway to Kes to the Doctor.   
  
"Captain, Nerik's brain waves are changing at a rapid pace. The data I'm receiving could mean he is experienc-" The Doctor was cut off by Nerik turning quickly and hitting the medical tricorder out of the doctor's hands, causing it to fly across the room.  
  
Angrily, the Jacian screamed in rage at the hologram. "I'm not some guinea pig! You murders! Get me off of this ship now! NOW!" He ran to Kes and grabbed her shoulders as he began to repeatedly shout.   
  
Captain Janeway immediately tapped her commbage and alerted security. In a matter of minutes, Tuvok's crew of officers entered Sickbay and dealt with the screaming telepath who, by the surrounding of new people and new lives, began to holler in pain. The Doctor had to sedate him, and he was taken off the ship unconscious.   
  
A few hours later, the sigh that had been building up for the past little while was released as Kathryn walked back to her quarters. They had released Nerik to the Cronetaban planet and now she just had to wait for Chakotay and B'Elanna return from the mines. It was unnerving to have a species that could know everything about a person's past by being in a meter radius of them. Entering her room, she found a nearby chair and fell into it as she closed her eyes, glad to be rid of the Jacian. And the away team? Chakotay and B'Elanna were assisting in mining the snowy lands of Cronetab for dilithium and gallacite. Nerik had thought they'd killed Cosa. He had been so angry. Possibilities and theories were forming in her head, worries. Perhaps he would resort to revenge...  
  
But there wasn't any way he could get to the Starfleet officers; they were under military protection. But that child knew everything everyone on the ship knew. He would know how to get into the mines. Alarm shot through her, but the realization that this was all a theory and she had no evidence calmed her down. He couldn't get to her chief engineer and...first officer...  
  
"Kim to Captain."  
  
The Ops Officer's sudden voice made Kathryn jump, then realize her commbadge was contacting her. In a normal, albeit panicked voice she quickly responded, "Yes, Ensign?"  
  
"The away team failed to report. We contacted the authorities on Cronetab, and they said something happened at the mining site."  
  
Panic and fear rose through her as she stood to leave. Chakotay... "Thank you, I'm on my way Ensign."  
  
No...   



End file.
